Current Reads

It's time to list a few things I have been reading lately. I know, they're all over the map; just interesting stuff...

Neal Stephenson - Cyptonomicon (finished-awesome) and started Quicksilver
(I love Stephenson for how he so smoothly mixes science, the supernatural, and myth/legend. He probably ripened me up for a return to the works of Lawhead...)

Stephen Lawhead - the Pendragon Cycle; 5 books, currently on the 4th - Pendragon
(This is a fascinating cycle of books written from Lawhead's obviously Christian perspective but focusing around myth, legend and historical fiction--think C.S.Lewis. One of the biggest plusses in this cycle is the depth of character as we follow many principal characters from birth to death. I also highly recommend the Empyrion Books Fierra/Dome)

N. T. Wright - For All God's Worth (a small but powerful little book on worship)

Steven Johnson - Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software (finished it this summer--really fascinating take on emergent intelligence)

Brian McLaren - The Last Word and the Word After That (the final book in the "New Kind of Christian" Trilogy, and possibly the best. I highly recommend starting at the beginning of the trilogy, though...)

Robert Fritz - The Path of Least Resistance (a terrific book about creating the life we really want. Rather than dealing with navigating through life as is--and how we have created it, whether consciously or not--this treatise focuses us upon changing the structures of our lives themselves, to better make a way for us to move through life what we really want to do. It's a very interesting approach to common challenges with a new perspective.

Howard Schultz - Pour Your Heart Into It (being a confessed coffee- and coffee-shop addict, I couldn't resist this one. Very inspiring)

Malcolm Gladwell - The Tipping Point (I first heard of Gladwell through Seth Godin's "Idea Virus" book; earlier this year Fast Company did a piece on Gladwell. One interesting take on the commonality between the spread of fads, epidemics, and "stickiness.")

The Imagineers - The Imagineering Way (after a trip to Disney World last spring I was fascinated by the whole design process behind those fantasy worlds. This book is one of many I wrote--it's a sort of field guide to working from inspiration and then making your creations really happen.)

Yep, been gone a while...

It's a bit embarrassing how long I have been away from this blog. It's been a crazy summer and fall.

I finally launched my music website. It's been fun to put it all together, and make it work. Thanks to my friend Simon for the hard work of coding.

I got to take part in two tours with the Dallas Brass. In September we went to Alaska--a place I have always wanted to visit. Check out the pix in the Alaska Tour Gallery.

I went out again at the end of November for what would turn out to be a blizzard, with school closings, highway accidents and cancelled concerts for us. It was great to play with the group again. They are sounding better than ever.

Lately my family and I are back at an Episcopal Church in the Dallas area, and loving it. It is more than anything a HEALTHY church, and that is wonderful. The teaching communicators are excellent and deep. They have launched a new alternative service to contrast with the blended/liturgical service in the big room, and I have the opportunity to take part in the design process of that service. My wife plays on the worship team as well. God is good.